“Alex and I had a conversation a few weeks ago,” Stanford football coach David Shaw said. “I told him that, ‘When you are really good at your job at corner, you don’t see a lot of balls.’ That’s where Alex is right now. It’s about keeping your mind into it, playing at a high level, eventually the ball is going to come your way. You have to be ready.”

Carter started the last eight games of last season and hasn’t slowed down since. An honorable mention all-Pac-12 pick as a true freshman, Carter led the team with three forced fumbles. His only collegiate interception came this year against Arizona State.

“Carter has grown this year from last,” Stanford safety Ed Reynolds said. “He’s a physical specimen, a young guy. He has long arms, he’s fast, he’s strong. It took him a little time to realize, ‘I have these tools. Let me use them.’ His football IQ has grown, his ability to watch film, analyze, come off the sideline and tell us what he saw from different wide receivers. That’s huge for us.”

“With age, I’ve become more mature,” Carter said. “I understand the game more. I can play faster.”

With Stanford entertaining Oregon tonight in the biggest Pac-12 game of the year, thoughts of last year’s upset win by the Cardinal in Eugene come to the forefront. The game was somewhat of a breakout game for Carter, who had two tackles-for-loss among six tackles.

“The game was fun, very fast-paced,” Carter said. “It’s what I consider my first big game I was in.”

Carter knows he and the Cardinal secondary will be in for its biggest challenge of the season because the Ducks’ no-huddle Quack Attack is one of the most formidable in the nation.

“Oregon tries to get wide across the field,” Carter said. “My job as a corner is to keep containment and force the ball back inside, not let those fast guys they have get to the edges.”

Carter is a fierce tackler, his 37 tackles fourth-best among the secondary. He opened the season with five solo tackles against San Jose State. Carter has just two pass break-ups this season, but quarterbacks are going elsewhere.

“He has done great in the running game,” said Shaw of Carter. “He’s a physical tackler. He does great in press coverage and in off-coverage. He’s starting to become the corner we envisioned. He’s in line to be a really good one.”

“When I came in as a freshman, I knew how to tackle, but not well,” Carter said. “I remember a couple times in camp where Barry Sanders Jr. juked me. I started to take the proper angle after that.”

In last year’s game at Autzen Stadium, Carter missed an early-game tackle against Ducks back Kenjon Barner, now playing for Carolina in the NFL.

“I had gotten through unblocked and Kenjon Barner was right there,” Carter said. “I said, ‘Uh, oh. I’m about to tackle this dude.’ I completely missed. Second time Barner came around, I was more calm and made the play.”

Carter came to Stanford out of Briar Woods in Ashburn, Va. Carter, a highly coveted receiver, was the Gatorade State Player of the Year as a senior as the Falcons won the AA state title. Stanford true freshman quarterback Ryan Burns played 10 minutes away in Leesburg.

“My high school days were fun,” Carter said. “My team has won the past three state championship games. The quarterback there now is going to Vanderbilt.”

Carter’s father, Tom, played in the NFL. Alex Carter has the talent to follow his father’s footsteps to the professional ranks one day. With a strong game against the Ducks, the 6-foot, 200-pound Carter might get some notice in that regard.

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